President Muhammadu Buhari broke an all-time record, last week, when he gave Nigeria’s national honours and awards to a large number of ”deserving Nationals and Non-Nationals,” who, according to him, had “distinguished themselves in the service of the nation and humanity in accordance with the National Honours Act CAP N43 of the Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.”
From the Member of the Order of the Niger (MON), Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR), Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) and Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR) to the highest honour of the Grand Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (GCFR), a total number of 447 awardees were honoured at the colourful ceremony, which incidentally, is the last of such for the President before his exit in 2023.
The large number is arguably justified, given the fact that it was a roll-over of sorts because since the inception of the Buhari Administration in 2015, there has not been any investiture such as this, except the Special Investiture Ceremony in honour of Chief MKO Abiola, Alhaji Baba Gana Kingibe and Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAN, whose investiture was specially done to right the wrong done in the past and restore the sanctity of the nation’s electoral process and democracy.
We sincerely agree with the established broad criteria for the awards. These include, but not limited to, consistent and meaningful participation in community and/or national development; rendering unsolicited, selfless and philanthropic services to humanity; outstanding sacrifice in the defence of a cause popularly adjudged to be positive, relevant and beneficial to the nation and community.
Other criteria include a distinct act of bravery in the protection and/or defence of national interest, public peace, safety of life and property; and remarkable achievement in any field of expertise where the person’s activities in that field have made significant contributions to the attainment of national goals and objectives, among others.
We are happy that Abdullahi Abubakar, an Imam in Barkin Ladi area of Plateau State was honoured. The Imam won the hearts of many Nigerians for his action in 2018 when he saved the lives of 262 Christians by hiding them in his mosque during a bandit attack as he knelt down in front of the armed bandits, pleading with them to leave.
Others honoured at the ceremony include Ms. Josephine Agu, an airport cleaner, who returned $12,200 found in a toilet at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, as well as Ogbanago Muhammed Ibrahim, a bank security man, who found and returned $10,000. The award conferred posthumously on the late Dr Stella Adadevoh for putting her life on the line to save Nigeria from Ebola is also commendable.
Some other Nigerians, who cut across all strata of the society, as well as leading technocrats and bureaucrats in both the private and public sectors also made the list of awardees. Others, even in the armed forces, were also honoured posthumously.
While we commend the National Honours Award Committee for the painstaking effort in selecting the lucky recipients from a total number of 5,000 entries received, we believe that some were deliberately denied the honour for clearly obvious reasons despite the outcry of some Nigerians against the apparent injustice.
Just as President Buhari stated at the ceremony that the awards are not in any way commemorative, we urge all Nigerians to be alive to their responsibility as patriotic citizens and always endeavour to do their best for the country.
However, we frown at the obvious fact that some of the awards are simply ”gifts for the boys” and mere rewards for political patronage. Some of those honoured at the occasion cannot be rightly said to have merited the honour bestowed on them in the real sense of it, just as a few Nigerians see the awards as just another bazaar.
A situation where Nigeria’s national awards are given based on political leanings and other mundane reasons is highly condemnable and regrettable as this would be setting a very bad precedence.
We sincerely believe that despite “assuring” that he will continue to root out all forms of banditry, criminality, terrorism and insurgency in the country, a promise that has been very difficult for him to fulfill since 2015, the greatest parting gift Nigerians expect from Buhari is the fulfilment of his latest promise to hand over “a Nigeria that is free from insecurity to the next generation of leaders.”
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